Paul Golin Visited October 14

Paul Golin Visited October 14

Arty DormanOctober 17, 2018October 17, 2018

Paul Golin, Executive Director of the Society for Humanistic Judaism, spent four days with Or Emet, October 11-14, 2018. On his final day, Paul led an adult discussion on “The Light Within: What do Humanistic Jews Want Their Children to Know About Judaism”

Paul shared his own story, growing up as a Conservative Jew and finding his way to Humanistic Judaism. The discussion drew on the insights and experience of many of our members, straddling generations. I heard expressed a desire for or children to value the thousands year old heritage we inherit as Jews, the values of social justice, reasoned inquiry, and adaptation to changing times, and to feel positive and proud of being Jewish.

A valuable point was the distinction between tribalism – making our Jewishness a way of creating boundaries with other ethnic and religious groups which becomes a path to conflict – and multiculturalism – celebrating what is unique about our Jewish lives, but also valuing the uniqueness of others in climate that respects all cultural heritage.